State Labor Department Releases Preliminary January 2014 Area Unemployment Rates

Follows New York Statewide Unemployment Rate Dropping to 6.8% - Lowest Level Since December 2008

The New York State Department of Labor today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for January 2014, which are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s unemployment rate relies in part on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households (out of more than 7 million) in New York State.

The state’s private sector job count increased by 119,600 from January 2013 to January 2014. As reported last week, the state’s unemployment rate was 6.8% in January 2014. The economy added 5,400 private sector jobs in January 2014, bringing the state’s private sector job count to a record high of 7,529,200.

Local Area Unemployment Rates* (%), January 2013 and January 2014 (not seasonally adjusted)

*Data are preliminary and subject to change

January

2014*

January

2013

Upstate NY (52-co. area)

7.4

9.2

Metro Areas

7.1

8.8

Albany-Schenectady-Troy

6.3

8.0

Binghamton

8.1

9.7

Buffalo-Niagara Falls

7.4

9.2

Elmira

8.0

9.9

Glens Falls

8.1

10.0

Ithaca

5.0

6.3

Kingston

7.5

9.7

Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown

6.6

8.4

Rochester

7.0

8.7

Syracuse

7.4

9.3

Utica-Rome

7.9

9.8

Non-metro Counties

8.4

10.4

Downstate NY (10-co. area)

7.3

9.0

New York City

8.1

9.7

Suburban Counties

5.9

7.6

Nassau-Suffolk

5.9

7.7

Putnam-Rockland-Westchester

5.8

7.5

The data in the preceding table are not seasonally adjusted, which means they reflect seasonal influences (e.g., holiday and summer hires). Therefore, the most valid comparisons with this type of data are year-to-year comparisons of the same month; for example, January 2013 versus January 2014.

Unemployment rate highlights in January 2014:

The counties in New York State with the lowest unemployment rates include:

Tompkins County (5.0%)

Putnam County (5.4%)

Nassau County (5.5%)

Rockland County (5.6%)

The counties in New York State with the highest unemployment rates include:

Bronx County (11.2%)

Lewis County (10.2%)

Jefferson County (10.0%)

Hamilton County (9.8%)

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, for New York and every other state are based on statistical regression models specified by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are the most up-to-date estimates of persons employed and unemployed by place of residence. Estimates are available for New York State, labor market regions, metropolitan areas, counties, and municipalities of at least 25,000.